Let’s face it, except for a couple quick cash grab tours in 2004 and 2007, Van Halen has been off people’s radar since the epic fail that was the Gary Cherone fronted “Van Halen III” back in 1998. After that album, Van Halen mostly went into hiding, and infighting. Things seemed all well at first when Sammy Hagar came back to the fold in 2004 for the reunion tour, but from all accounts behind the scenes- that tour was an unmitigated disaster.
In the wake of the verbal fisticuffs of that tour, Hagar and original bassist Michael Anthony left the band. After almost 30 years in the band, Anthony was replaced by Eddie Van Halen’s 17 year old son, Wolfgang, to play bass- adding insult to injury. Van Halen recruited original lead singer David Lee Roth for a 2007 tour that seemed to have minimal issues, but fans had a hard time taking to the latest Van Halen member in the band.
So after almost 5 years after that tour, the band has been working on a new album and are now starting to try and make their comeback after being irrelevant well over the past decade. With their new album “A Different Kind of Truth” due out February 7th and a tour starting a few weeks later and lasting through June, this should be an exciting time for Van Halen fans everywhere- or is it?
I don’t think I’m in the minority when I say this- but I am very mixed on this latest attempt to reboot Van Halen. Below are my reasons for why you should be excited for the latest VH comeback:
Be Excited!: Ok, I’ve taken my shots at David Lee Roth over the years. He’s a dork, he’s too goofy and dumb to be a great lead singer, and so on. But seeing Roth back in 2007 in the band was the only reason to enjoy that tour. Yes, he’s a dork. Yes, he’s goofy and dumb. But he’s also a lot of fun, even after all of these years. The only life coming from stage during that tour was Roth and he made the shows enjoyable. It’s pretty safe to say that Roth had one of the largest egos in rock history back in the 80’s, but I think that’s tempered a bit now and he knows what he has now.
Plus, I think fans are looking for a little fun in their Van Halen now. After the horror stories told about the 2004 tour with Hagar, fans are looking for a lighter approach to Van Halen in 2012. Roth is the guy to bring that and even as he gets into his late 50’s, Roth is still a ball of energy and entertaining as hell. Whether or not it translates into a good album- we’ll that remains to be seen.
Eh, Not So Much!: If you’re read books on the band and interviews with various artists- why would you cheer for a comeback for Eddie Van Halen? From all accounts, the guy is a legendary egomaniac a-hole and drove not one, not two, but three lead singers out of the band (see- Gary Cherone finally gets his due!). Sure, he’s a phenomenal talent, but why would you cheer for someone that has tried to sabotage his own band several times? It’s tough to get behind someone like that. It’s not like we care much about his brother, Alex Van Halen and staying lockstep with his brother. Plus, with the way Michael Anthony was let go for Eddie’s 16 year old son Wolfgang was pretty nauseating to say the least. I wonder if Eddie was always preparing his son to take over the bassist role and had been grooming him since birth for it? We’ll never know, but one can speculate. But with everyone named Van Halen on this album and musical talents aside and personal history in the forefront- it’s still tough to get excited about this.
Whether you are stoked or not- Van Halen plays the Palace on February 20th. Tickets are on sale this Tuesday (January 10th).
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